Month: May 2017

In today’s news there is still talk of US House of Representatives continuing with the lawsuit against the government demanding an end to deductible and co-pay cost-sharing subsidies. These subsidies help Americans pay for their Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan deductibles, co- insurance, and co-pays.

Up to 87% of people with an Affordable Care Act plan get help paying for their insurance premium and/or out-of-pocket costs.

Insurers know there would be devastating effects to them and American households both, if the cost-sharing subsidies were to be stopped. Many, if not most, households with an ACA plan would simply be forced to incur medical bills that they have no way to pay. This would end up creating waves and waves of medical care by providers all across the country to go completely unpaid.

In light of this situation: “16 state attorneys general have asked a federal appeals court to let them intervene in a legal case to keep those payments flowing.

“On Thursday, attorneys general from both Republican- and Democratic-led states filed a motion to intervene in House v. Price, a case originally brought by House Republicans to block federal payment to insurers to fund the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reductions for low-income exchange plan members.

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hear a status report in the case on May 22. Meanwhile, insurers around the country, citing uncertainty about the cost-sharing reduction payments, have filed requests for 2018 premium hikes in the double digits. The CSR payments are estimated to total $7 billion this year.”

So the natural question is: What happens to the healthcare industry in America if nearly $7 billion dollars goes missing to pay for medical care?

If we are going to be forced to live under the law called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, those in Congress need to develop understanding about the current situation that American households are in, and they need to free insurance companies to manage premiums, claims, and their own business.